Belavia Acquires E-Jets for Fleet Renewal Initiative

Belavia of Minsk, Belarus, has completed the transaction for two EMBRAER 175s, as part of a fleet renewal initiative to replace smaller-capacity equipment and older, larger capacity aircraft. The airline has leased the two E-Jets from Air Lease Corporation of Los Angeles, USA. The first E175 is expected to be delivered in September 2012.

The carrier identified the need for 80-seat jet capacity after thorough analysis of a growth plan that includes new destinations and increased flight frequencies. The E175s will be configured with 12 Business Class and 64 Economy Class seats so that the airline can offer a consistent, dual class product standard among all aircraft types in its fleet.

Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, Embraer President, Commercial Aviation, said: “Belavia is another excellent example of an airline which has embraced the E-Jets philosophy of fleet right sizing. It joins a growing list of E-Jet customers in Eastern Europe that have discovered the enormous potential of the aircraft to add capacity that is ideally suited to markets in that region without downgrading the service level they offer in their narrow-bodies.”

Embraer’s presence in Eastern Europe, the Ukraine and Central Asia is steadily increasing. Six other airlines in those regions have added E-Jets to their fleets: Montenegro Airlines, Air Moldova, Bulgaria Air, Aerosvit, Wind Rose Aviation and Air Astana.

“We have taken a strategic decision to phase out our old fleet and opt for a new aircraft to complement our narrow-body jets,” said Anatoly Gusarov, Director General of Belavia. “The E175 perfectly suits our growth strategy to test new routes where it would be uneconomical to operate larger aircraft.”